


It's all coming back to me now

by MelindaCoulson4



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Erased memories, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Team Dynamics, Teamwork, The Framework
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-09-27 16:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10032407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelindaCoulson4/pseuds/MelindaCoulson4
Summary: Post 4x15. Daisy has entered the framework. Everything that she knows has been flipped upside-down; she just doesn’t know it yet.Multi-chapter; Multiple povs: Daisy, May, Simmons, Coulson.





	1. Preface

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little tease....more to come.

**DAISY**

 

_Wake up your boyfriend. We’re being called in._

Her phone had listed that it was a message from _Jackass._

  
She stares at the phone long and hard. Whose number could that be? She had tried to figure out by going through her contacts, but came up empty. Her contacts were filled with names that she didn’t even recognize: Baker, Boss Lady, Davis, Ferry, Flapjack, Grant, Jackass, Rosenburg, Tom, Victor.

 _Flapjack?_ What kind of contact name was Flapjack? That was really not helpful at the moment.

There was no contact listed as Coulson. No Fitz. No Mac. No Simmons. And no May. This was already beginning to feel like the hardest mission that she was ever going to complete. And of course, she was going to complete it.  She and Simmons were going to find every single member of their team and bring them home. They had to. Failure was not an option.

“Skye?”

“Huh?” She turns her head to the left and sees Grant Ward, who is apparently her boyfriend.  A boyfriend, that she lives with and works with. So, Ward was still with SHIELD in the framework. That was weird. What was the point of that?

“We’re here….” He says from his seat in the driver’s side of their car.

“Oh,” she responds.  She pulls her attention from the phone in her hand, moves her hand to her hip, and unbuckles her seatbelt.  Then, she wraps her hand around the door handle and hops out of the car.  That’s when she realizes it. Her feet are touching pavement. They hadn’t entered a secret tunnel or took a complicated route to the base. In fact, Ward had driven them on the highway in order to get here. They aren’t even in a parking garage. This isn’t a covert base. Ward had parked in a parking lot with hundreds of other cars.

She squints, trying to shield her eyes from the blinding sun beating down on them. Its broad daylight and they are in a parking lot, reporting to SHIELD. How ridiculous. She raises a hand in order to cast a shadow on her eyes. Now, she can clearly see that this base is huge. The buildings are massive and seem interconnected.  Her heart nearly bursts out of her chest when she sees the symbol at the very top of the closest structure: a skull and squid-like arms. She squeezes her eyes shut as tightly as she possibly can, hoping that they were just playing tricks on her. Opening them, she is disheartened to see that it is the same, evil symbol looming over her. HYDRA.

Why were they going to HYDRA?

“Are you okay? I called your name like ten times in the car?” Ward says from beside her, making her almost jump out of her own skin.

She was so distracted that she didn’t hear him sneak up on her. “Yep, fine,” she squeaks. _Totally not fine_. But she doesn’t care; she can barely keep it together right now.

They were in HYDRA. Ward was an agent of HYDRA, which wasn’t really a surprise. However, to suddenly discover that she herself was an agent of HYDRA was like a slap in the face. No, worse than that, more like a punch in the face.

Why did they make it so blatantly obvious that this is a HYDRA base? Why hasn’t SHIELD just destroyed it?

 

_What happened to SHIELD?_

 

_//tbc//_


	2. DAISY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This picks up immediately where the last chapter ended
> 
> Also, I use adult language in my fics. So if you don’t like that i'm warning you now. Its just a natural thing that helps the fic flow to me.

**DAISY**

 

By the time they make it to the entrance she’s sweating profusely and not from the weather. It was hot walking on the black pavement for 15 minutes next Grant Ward, but there was the knowledge that she was about to walk into a HYDRA base that made her nervous as hell. And when she was nervous, she tended to sweat.

She counts twenty guards standing at the metal detector and body scanner as they walk through the automatic entrance doors. It seems like they’re all copies of the same guy. They all have shaved heads and a cold stare that is pointed directly at her.

One of the guys walks up to them and stops, holding a hand out expectantly. He holds some kind of scanner gun in his hand.

When she continues to stare at him blankly, not knowing what to do, he finally speaks, “Badges?”

Ward, who is still next to her, and standing way too close pulls a rectangular piece of plastic out of his pants pocket and places it in the guy’s hand.

The agent scans it with the gun, the gun beeps, and he hands the badge back to Ward with no problem.

 _Think, Daisy!_ She shoves her hands first in her jacket pockets, then in her pants pockets making a show of searching for the badge that she definitely knows she doesn’t have on her.

“Umm…I can’t seem to find it,” she says pathetically, inwardly cringing.

“No problem Agent Pierce. I’m sure the director won’t mind. We all know who you are,” he comments almost sneering at her.

 _Agent Pierce?_ Where did that come from?

“Thanks,” she smiles quickly and then glances out of the corner of her eye at Ward.

He’s already begun walking through the body scanner up ahead.  She speeds to the scanner, not making eye contact with any of the skinheads. Her hand automatically lands on her hip, pulling off the gun that she had on the holster. That was an unfamiliar weight that she hasn’t felt in a long time, not since she got her powers. She places the gun, a knife that she had in her jacket pocket, and a keyring that had five unknown keys hooked onto it into the basin to bypass the scanner. Then, steps through the metal scanner quickly feeling like every buzzer and alarm is going to automatically start going haywire due to her presence. Somehow they would know. They would just sense that she was SHIELD. It was an irrational thought, but she couldn’t help it. This was obviously an irrational place.

Thankfully, nothing happens.

She waits with bated breath for the guard closest to her to pass her the items from the basin. Ward comes over, his shoulder slightly brushing up against her own now, making her internally cringe. She quickly shoves the keys and knife into the same pocket and holds the gun in her hand ready to get away from all of these HYDRA agents.

“Alright, here we go,” Ward comments as she follows him towards the end of the room. As they get closer, she can see that there are elevators built into the wall. Ward moves toward the buttons on the wall and taps one of the up arrows. Okay, so they were going up. _Further into HYDRA_ , she swallows hard, trying not to throw up at the thought.

It isn’t long before the ding of the elevator occurs and the doors slide open. They step in and it’s definitely not what she expected. The elevator isn’t a grey steel box. It’s clear and made of glass; giving her a full view of the outside world. She can see that this side of the building is facing a body of water that is surrounded by vibrant green pine trees. The view would be quite beautiful if it wasn’t ruined by the fact that she was seeing it from inside a HYDRA base.

A sudden sensation of warm skin on her hand startles her, causing a shiver to run down her spine. She looks down, completely shocked to see Ward’s hand making contact with her own. She feels his fingers pressing into the spaces between her own, entwining them together.

“You good?” He asks, eyebrow rising in question.

“Of course,” she responds, squeezing his hand. She tampers down the urge to keep squeezing and break his hand. This was absolutely gross. She didn’t want him to touch her at all. He is a snake; better yet, a HYDRA snake. But, she steels herself, flashing him a smile that she tries her best to make appear genuine. She had to play this part. She had to save the team.

 _Distraction,_ that’s what she needed right now _._ She turns her attention back to the view outside. They are higher up now, way high, and probably more than halfway up the building by now. She can see an array of buildings, barely any patches of green, and busy streets filled with cars. They were in a city. A tall, slim structure catches her eye. It’s odd and unique and she’s only seen it in one place in her whole life. It was the Washington Monument, which means that they are in DC.

The elevator dings once again signaling their arrival. To where? She has no idea. She pulls her hand out of Ward’s grip hoping that would be a natural thing for them to do. They were agents after all. They had to be somewhat professional. Thankfully, he doesn’t react and simply steps off of the elevator.

“Oh so you did get my text? I was beginning to think you two got lost on your way here,” a man’s voice greets them as soon as they step onto the floor. A man, who has a very distinct and very British accent that she instantly recognizes.

She glances over to her right and sees him. It was Hunter, Lance Hunter; the first familiar face that she actually wanted to see. Now, the _Jackass_ contact ID in her phone made perfect sense.

His presence is surprising to say the least. And his appearance is even more of a shock. He’s dressed in a suit. It’s made up of a plain old black jacket, black pants, white shirt underneath, and a black striped tie. She has to quickly school her features; luckily, she’s had plenty of practice over the years because he looks absolutely ridiculous. It reminds her of how Coulson used to dress. Except Coulson somehow made the suit work, he eluded secret agent man. But Hunter dressed like this, absolutely not. She couldn’t take him seriously. If she didn’t know better she would say this was one elaborate prank.

“Christ. Fuckin’ weasel,” Ward mutters near her ear. She can sense the irritation in his tone.

“Well? We don’t have all day. You should’ve been here twenty minutes ago. She’s expecting you,” Hunter snaps, then turns on his heel and dashes out of the room.

 _What the hell was that?_ At first, she thought he was joking around about the text, but apparently he was being serious. _Ugh_ , why did the Framework have to ruin everything?

“Let’s go before we get our asses handed to us. Well….before I do,” Ward comments, walking in the direction of Hunter’s exit.

She follows right behind him, jogging to catch up. When they get to the next room, she is utterly shocked. She thought that it was a surprise to see Hunter, but this was an even bigger one. Standing in the middle of the room, is none other than Melinda May. Daisy is able to recognize her even though May isn’t facing them. May has her back to them and she is staring at a statue in the middle of the room, while Hunter whispers in her ear. Daisy takes a closer look and sees that it’s a huge HYDRA statue made out of metal, just planted right smack in the middle of the room, which is bizarre. What is even more unsettling about it is that May has a hand on one of the HYDRA arms and is slowly moving from one end of the arm towards the other. It is almost like she is caressing the statue.

“I do have other agents that I can call. You’re aware of that, Grant?” May questions, now stationary yet still resting a hand on the HYDRA arm.

 _Grant?_ She calls him Grant?

“Of course, ma’am,” Ward responds.

_Ma’am?_

Daisy glances over at Ward. He’s standing with his hands joined in front of his stomach; one hand is gripping the opposite hand and his eyes keep darting nervously around the room.

She can tell that he’s uncomfortable. She had known the real Ward well enough to learn that those are all of his tells.

“Put it up,” May orders Hunter with a flippant hand gesture, still with her back to them.

“Of course….of course, Director,” Hunter responds, almost dropping the tablet that he has cradled in his hands.

Director?…. _Oh, fuck._   How could she not have put that together? They’re on one of the highest floors in the building. This office is huge. Ward calling May, ma’am. Hunter dancing around here like a lackey. May is the Director of Hydra. She can barely even process this. Her brain refused to connect May to HYDRA, so hearing the words now felt earth-shattering. This was unacceptable and insane. This world really was upside-down.

The wall in front of them suddenly flashes with color, capturing her attention. A picture slides into focus, covering the entire wall. The wall turned into a screen. Wow, HYDRA was high-tech.

“Albright High School. Alexandria, Virginia,” Hunter announces, pointing at the screen.

She can see what appears to be a crime scene photo of a classroom that looked like it was devastated by a tornado. Desks were overturned. There was a gaping hole in the ceiling. The window on the far right side of the scene was shattered.

Hunter begins talking again, but she can’t seem to focus on anything that comes out of his mouth. She’s more interested in this room, which is apparently May’s office. There is hardly anything in here. There’s the strange HYDRA effigy in the middle of the room, of course. On the left side of the room are four white block chairs that almost appear to be made of metal too, the shape and design coming off entirely rigid.

On the right side of the room is a desk, completely made out of glass, which is another oddly futuristic item in this room. It doesn’t even have any drawers. It is just a tabletop with two legs supporting it; if that even qualifies as a desk. The desk is almost completely bare if not for the two file folders neatly stacked in the middle of it. The files are even pristine and perfect, appearing to be piled up corner-to-corner with one another.  There are no pens or papers. No pictures placed in frames on the desk. There is nothing personal, just empty space.

This whole room is bland and unlived in. Anyone who actually knew May would know that this isn’t like her at all.  This is a shell of May, how an outsider looking in would create her to be like. And that’s exactly what Aida did.

“Skye.….let’s get going.”

May’s voice snaps her to attention. She looks at May, who is now finally facing her. Her face is just total devoid of all emotion, so detached. Her hair is completely straightened, there’s no wave to it like the real May’s hair.   

“You’re coming with us?” Ward asks, but she can tell by the panic in his eyes that he wishes he hadn’t even opened his mouth.

May’s eyes dart towards Ward, squinting at him in disgust. “I am. Do you have a problem with that?”

Okay, so some things did stay the same. May still loathed Ward. That was good…kind of in a weird way.

The bright side to all of this Hydra mess is that she found May. Now, she had to locate Coulson. Since May is here, Coulson is probably somewhere around here too. Find one, you find the other; that’s just how it was with Coulson and May.

 

_So….if May is the director of HYDRA, then what the hell is Coulson?_

 

_//tbc//_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we have our first two appearances....Hunter and May haha
> 
> Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!!!!


	3. JEMMA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is what's going on with one of our favorite scientists.

**JEMMA**

 

Her head feels like it is being pounded by a thousand hammers at the moment. _What happened? Where is she?_

She feels almost paralyzed; her limbs are difficult to move, feeling like they’re made of lead. Her face is tucked into the crook of her elbow, shielding her from the wind that seems to be picking up around the rest of her body.

There’s a strange humming noise that keeps getting louder and louder, but she can’t place what is causing it.

Just when she thinks that the noise can’t possibly grow any louder, it finally cuts off.

“Hey, lady! Are you okay?” she hears a man call out.

She assumes he’s talking to her, so she lifts her head up and sees a man holding a weed whacker less than 10 feet from her position. He has bright orange headphones covering his ears and is staring at her like she’s absolutely insane.

“Yes….I’m fine. Thank you,” she tells him.

He nods, turns around, and resumes the weed whacking. She watches as he moves through an endless sea of grass, seemingly turning at random points. He stops at a peculiar looking stone and does his work carefully. That’s when she takes in the rest of her surroundings and sees that there are stones everywhere. All she sees is stone and grass for hundreds of yards. That’s when she finally realizes that she’s in a cemetery.

She has entered the framework….in a cemetery? _Why? Why would that happen? Why wouldn’t she just pick up where the avatar Jemma Simmons left off?_ This was unexpected.

As she pulls herself up, she is increasingly disturbed by the feeling under her stomach. It’s rough and solid unlike the soft patches of grass that the rest of her body is lying on. She immediately rolls over and stands up. To her horror, she finds out that she was actually lying on a gravestone that whole time. Upon closer inspection, she reads the name on the stone.

 

_Jemma Simmons_

Okay, well that explains why she didn’t take over the life of the framework’s Jemma Simmons. It’s because that Jemma Simmons is dead.

 _Ugh_ , she couldn’t stare at it any longer. It was unnerving to look at. Reading her own name on a gravestone was something that she never expected to see in her lifetime. Well, she doesn’t have time to dwell on it. It isn’t real anyway. She had more important things to do. Find Fitz and then meet up with Daisy somehow.

Her first instinct is to go to Fitz’s favorite places, thinking that maybe she would find him at one of them. But that would be impractical and waste too much time. Especially considering one of Fitz’s favorite places is Costa Rica because of all of the monkeys. Instead of going on a witch hunt with no end in sight, she decides to find a shopping mall or any kind of overcrowded place.

 

_She knows exactly what to do._

 

_//tbc//_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is short, but don't worry there's a lot more coming :) 
> 
> Comments help me upload faster ;)


	4. MAY

**MAY**

 

She's been talking with two inept police officers for twenty minutes now and they still can't give her a straight answer about what happened here. They think that she'll accept ‘the runaround’ that she’s dealt with many times before. The runaround consists of distraction, lack of information, lack of control, and bluffing. They've been trying to do all four since the moment her and the team arrived. For some reason, these police officers don’t want to cooperate with HYDRA.

She turns her head away from the two officers, trying to find Skye. She’ll just get Skye to start interviewing witnesses. Ward is already examining the crime scene with the help of Hunter, which wasn’t much help at all if she was being honest. Hunter was skilled at one thing: kissing ass. But, he did whatever she ordered him to do so she kept him around. 

She spots Skye standing near their SUVs, staring blankly in the direction of the ambulances. Skye bounces from one foot to the other with nervous energy, something she hasn’t done since she was a teenager. There is something going on with her, but May doesn’t have time to figure out what it is right now. They have a job to do.

She marches over to Skye, trying to put on her best no-nonsense boss face on. “Skye, go talk to the witness.”

Skye continues with her staring as if May hadn’t even said anything.

“Skye...what is your problem?”  
  
Finally, Skye meets her gaze, albeit slowly, as if she couldn’t pull her eyes away from whatever she was so focused on. “I....,” she trails off, eyes watering.   
  
This was taking way too long. Skye was too distracted to do the job. Distractions meant mistakes and she couldn’t allow any mistakes especially with her presence on the scene.

“I’ll do it myself,” she mutters, leaving Skye to continue on with whatever she was so distracted by. May rarely visits crime scenes or interviews witnesses, but there was something about this case that gnawed away at her. From the very beginning, she sensed a strange vibe while reading the police report. It seemed like there was something missing. Something so obviously wrong, but she couldn’t figure it out. Hopefully, being here would help with that.

The one piece of information that she had managed to extract from the police officers is that the key witness is a high school history teacher. She quickly glances down at the notepad in her left hand, reading the words that she had scribbled there:

 _Fire. High school classroom. History teacher hurt by the damage. Suspected inhuman._    
  
The last couple of words that she had hastily written at the bottom of the paper:

 _  
Teacher’s name- P. Coulson._  

 

She has almost reached the line of ambulances that are parked in front of the school. Her sights are only set on the ambulance to the far left, with its back doors hanging open. There’s a man sitting on the bumper holding a cloth against his right temple.

She slows down and stops, standing directly in front of him waiting for him to look up at her. He definitely looks like a history teacher and a stereotypical one at that. Thick black rimmed glasses rest on the tip of his nose. There’s a crack in the corner of the right lens. Strands of his hair are sticking up in every which way. The whole right side of his face is covered in tiny, blood-oozing cuts. He’s the definition of disheveled.

He tilts his head upwards, eyes meeting her own. Her heartrate accelerates so suddenly in her chest that she’s caught off-guard for a moment. There is something about him that feels so familiar; it causes a physical ache and attraction inside of her.

  
“Mr.....Coulson? Am I correct?” She barely gets the words out. Her tongue feels like sandpaper in her mouth. _What the hell? Pull yourself together._  
  
His posture instantly straightens up. “Uh. Yea. Yep. Yes,” he replies with a hint of nervousness.

Maybe it isn’t nervousness, more like social awkwardness. She doesn’t even know how he can breathe with that tie pulled so tightly around his neck. It’s a black tie, tucked into a light grey dress shirt, paired with a dark green sweater. The sleeves are rolled up just before hitting his elbows, effectively showing off his muscular arms. He has a face that eludes openness and honesty, one that could earn the trust of students easily. He is attractive in a Clark Kent type of way, but she would never admit it out loud.

“Hi, I’m Director May with Hydra.”

“Oh, thank god. I was wondering when you guys would show up,” he responds, sighing with relief.

“Could you explain to me what happened here?” she gestures to the school building.  
  
He nods. “I was teaching my 2 o'clock class. It was around 2:20 when I heard screaming in the hallway. I opened the door and peered into the hallway. There were things on fire….a couple of books on the floor and a bag. I didn’t know what was going on. Then, I turned to look down the other side of the hallway and saw a student…Chan Yin. His hands were completely on fire, like his palms…everything. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and tried spraying it, but it didn’t do anything against the flames. He was screaming for help. All of the students in my class were screaming.” He pauses for a moment, shaking his head in disbelief.

 “A fireball shot out from Chan’s hand towards the students in the back of the classroom. That’s when I realized that he was doing it. He was controlling that fire….literally throwing fireballs. I raised the fire extinguisher and I was just going to knock him out with it. I had no idea what else to do. That’s when the whole ceiling seemed to come down on top of me. Next thing I know…I’m being pulled out of rubble,” he finishes and begins readjusting the cloth on his head.

That explains the dust that covers almost the entirety of his brown khaki pants. “So, you were protecting your students? That's how you got that injury?” she asks eyeing his head.   
  
“Yes. I would do anything for my students,” he admits with such serious conviction.  
  
“Chan Yin is your student,” she challenges.  
  
Mr. Coulson’s face changes immediately. His eyes darken considerably, while his lips form a grim, straight line. “No. Not anymore. He's one of those freaks,” he growls.   
  
Of course, he would have an unwavering opinion on the matter. He is a history teacher. He probably had extensive knowledge about the war against the inhumans. His opinions are probably exactly aligned with HYDRA. The inhumans needed to be exterminated. They were an abomination. All they did was cause death and destruction. Those mutants were out of control, which is how she had come to join HYDRA in the first place. HYDRA made a huge impact on the world. She wanted to help the human race and help to bring down the alien inhuman agenda.

“Anything else I should know?” she asks.

“Have we.....met before?” His eyes begin running over her face, analyzing it, as if searching for something specific.   
  
She is inclined to say yes, but she can’t place where she’s seen him before. His face, mannerisms, and voice seemed so familiar, like she’s known him all of her life. “I don't think so, Mr. Coulson,” she answers.  
  
He flashes her a warm smile, eyes crinkling. “It's Phil.”  
  
“Phil,” she responds. _Phil. Phil. Phil Coulson_. That name seemed to activate something deep within her brain, but she can’t seem to think of what it is.  
  
“I just.....I feel like I know you from somewhere,” he explains. 

_He felt it too?_

She doesn’t know how to respond. She’s been standing here staring at him for too long anyway. It’s time to leave. “Here’s my number …in case you remember anything or have any questions or concerns.” She hands him a business card from the pile in her back pocket.

“Thank you.” He takes the card without making contact with her own hand, which was kind of disappointing.

“A medic has been around to check that wound out, right?”  She couldn’t help the worry that she felt deep within the pit of her stomach. There was this inexplicable need to make sure that he was going to be okay.

“Yes, but I told them to take care of the students first.”

How noble of him. His level of attractiveness just surged. She had to tamper down the need to reach out and touch him. It seemed like such a natural thing to do in her mind, but it was so inappropriate.

_What was going on with her?_

 

//tbc//

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make philinda strangers in this, just to do something interesting. I hope this turns out to be false in canon because I am so desperate for philinda on screen.
> 
>  
> 
> Thoughts?


	5. JEMMA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for Jemma and Fitzsimmons

**JEMMA**

 

A whopping $428, a taxi ride, and three hours later, she ends up on a crowded street corner in New York City. The smartphone in her hand says that she has 500 feet to walk until her destination, which is on the left. She looks up from the phone and sees a massive skyscraper labeled “LifeTech”. The building is completely covered in reflective panels. She can clearly make out the images of two adjacent buildings in the paneling. The letters in “LifeTech” are stacked vertically along the building in bright blue coloring, making it clearly stand out to anyone passing by. There are groups of mostly men walking in and out of the entrance to the building. It’s a steady stream of people around this building.

She spots a couple of tables and chairs that are placed in front of the building along with a bunch of beautiful flower beds. She jogs up the two step staircase leading to the lounge area and snags a seat on one of the metal chairs.  It’s not like she could just waltz right into the building and say, ‘oh hey Fitz, it’s me Jemma, let’s go. This is all in your head.’ So, her best option is to sit out here and wait until he comes out. She could do that, that’s all she’s been doing lately, anyway is waiting.

The cell phone in her hand begins buzzing again. She rolls her eyes in annoyance. It had been doing that the whole cab ride into the city. It was only a matter of time until the owner would track the phone down, time to trash it. She presses her thumb against the side of the phone, waiting for the powering down signal to flash across the screen. There’s a trashcan less than a yard away from her that she walks to and dumps the phone in. Okay, one problem solved. She tampers down the feelings of anxiousness and guilt for throwing away someone else’s phone.

She had stolen the phone from a middle aged lady in the grocery store. After getting her bearings in the cemetery, she had decided to find a well populated public place that she would be able to easily do some pickpocketing at. The first place that she came across was a grocery store. That was the perfect place to take things from people, even though she hated admitting it. People tended to leave their purses unattended in their grocery carts, so it was easy to swoop in and grab a phone and some cash. Sure, her face would most likely be caught on store surveillance, but that didn’t matter seeing as they were in a fake world anyway. The people that she had stolen from weren’t even real, so she felt only moderately guilty. Thankfully, she had learned a thing or two in her time at SHIELD. She had learned to stay cool under pressure and to take what she needed. She was able to collect three different cell phones and a couple thousands of dollars in cash after being in the store for a little under an hour.

Once she had left the grocery store, she immediately pulled one of the phones out of her pocket and did a google search for Fitz. Well, Leopold Fitz technically. She remembers exactly what the results were because how could she forget what she saw.

 

_ Top stories _

_Leo and dad are at it again! The project that is saving hundreds of lives per day._

_LifeTech company receives high praise along with high stocks for big strides, surpasses all other tech companies._

_The LMD is number one! The launching of LMD version 5.7 is the best we’ve seen yet._

_ People also search for _

_Aida_

_Leopold Fitz net worth_

_LifeTech_

_Leopold Fitz is a Scottish tech entrepreneur, author, businessman, billionaire, and philanthropist. In 2010, he built the LifeTech (a.k.a. Life Model Decoy Technology) empire from the ground up with the help of his business partner, his father…read more…._

After reading all of that information, she quickly punched in a search for LifeTech headquarters in google maps, which led her here.

She checks the time on the phone:  _11:22 a.m._

She’s been sitting in the uncomfortable metal chair for at least an hour now, watching all of the suits laugh and joke with each other while walking in and out of the building. It truly was amazing that this was a fake world. How was this even possible? The science behind it is remarkable. To have enough detail in this simulation where five real people didn’t even know that they were in a fake life (Mace, Mac, Coulson, May, and Fitz). Their perceptions of reality were so skewed that they actually believed that this was real. The darkhold really was the most powerful book and SHIELD should’ve destroyed it right when they had the chance. Coulson should’ve. No one should have that power, especially an LMD and a scientist who has arguably gone mad. The first thing that she’s going to do is find that book and make it disappear, no matter what. She would personally make sure that this never happens to anyone ever again.

There’s a sudden commotion coming from the building. A rush of people is now exiting through the set of revolving doors. The front line is made up of men in sunglasses; there are four of them. They appear to be bodyguards. There are other people in suits too, some young and some old. The younger ones hold notebooks, pens, and cell phones. The older ones seem to be deep in conversation with each other. She can barely see past the crowd of people in order to know what all of the excitement is about. But then, she immediately knows once she spots him. _It’s Fitz_. Her chest aches at the sight of him. The last time she saw him, not the real Fitz but his LMD, she had to stab him, so just seeing him now alive and breathing was a massive relief.  

She can already see the difference in this Fitz. He’s wearing a dark blue suit, a white button up shirt underneath, and a black tie. He has a large watch wrapped around his wrist and he’s wearing what appear to be Ray-Ban sunglasses. As she stares at the sunglasses she sees something else surprising. Fitz isn’t alone. There’s a woman walking beside him who has a manicured hand wrapped around his left bicep. The woman is tall, slim, and beautiful. Jemma can’t get a clear view of her because all of the men are still surrounding Fitz and deep in conversation. What she can see is that the woman has a bleach white, lace dress hugging her body. It seems like it was practically painted on her for how tight it is. She has wavy, chocolate brown hair and appears just as rich as Fitz is.

Finally, the group of suits clear away and that’s when her heart feels like it has plunged into her stomach. _The woman._ The woman is…..Aida. Her jaw drops open at the sight.

_What is Aida doing here? What did she do to Fitz?_

Her nails dig into the palms of her hands to relieve some of the tension, otherwise she would start screaming. Oh how she wanted to run up to them and tackle Aida, but that was illogical. That wouldn’t accomplish anything. She has to tamper down the emotions for now. She has a mission to complete and she is going to get it done. The sooner that she deals with this, the sooner her and Fitz could be back to normal.

She watches with a clenching jaw as the two of them whisper a couple of words in each other’s ears and then begin walking away from the building. Aida grabs onto Fitz’s forearm with the hand that wasn’t wrapped around his bicep as they step down the two-step staircase and onto the busy street.

Jemma stands up and begins following them. She’s just found him again and she isn’t going to let him out of her sight.

It was sickening watching Aida hold onto him like that. Just knowing that she purposely designed this role for herself in the framework was unsettling. This just confirms her long-term suspicion that Aida had a strange attachment to Fitz.

It’s difficult to keep her distance when the streets are completely overcrowded. She’s afraid that Fitz and Aida will turn down a corner and they’ll be gone by the time she catches up. At the same time, she can’t let them spot her. Fitz probably has tons of people who would want to meet him, which is why he has bodyguards. Yet, he waved them off for this…walk through the busy streets of NYC.

_What are they doing? Just taking a leisurely stroll in the middle of the day?_

Suddenly, they turn towards a shop. Fitz holds the door open for Aida and they both walk in.

She cranes her neck and spots the sign for the shop: Starbucks. _Ah, that makes sense_. It was about time for a little mid-day coffee run. Jemma quickly decides that it would be better to go in. There is no way that she could inconspicuously stand outside of the shop. That would definitely draw attention. Besides, there is no space on the narrow sidewalk anyway.

She ducks her head and walks into the shop. There are people everywhere. It is so similar to reality; it is completely unsettling. Avatars are waiting in line, typing on computers, having conversations with one another. The amount of power needed for something like this was unbelievable. 

She spots Fitz and Aida quickly. They are difficult to miss. Patrons and employees are already staring at them, seemingly in awe. Yet, both Fitz and Aida, have deep frowns on their faces, most likely annoyed with the attention. They appear extremely miserable to be here.

She decides to sit at a table in the corner of the shop, hoping that no one will notice the small woman all alone. That’s how she feels, so deeply disconnected from everyone. Seeing Fitz with someone else, not knowing where the team is. It’s all too much for one person to do alone, that’s why she is so grateful that Daisy is somewhere in this world too.

A sudden commotion draws her attention. It’s Fitz, at the counter, speaking to one of the employees.

“You’re sorry? Do you think I have the time to wait around here while you continue to be incompetent at your job?”

“I-Sir….I’m-,” the barista stammers.

His hand slams against the marble countertop, creating a _whack!_ that reverberates throughout the shop. “Fix it. And quickly,” he demands sharply.

She jumps involuntarily at the noise. Fitz never spoke to people like that.

Everyone in the shop is eyeing him wearily now, especially her. This Fitz is a complete stranger and she doesn’t like him one bit.

Aida simply stands next to him still with a frown on her face, indifferent to his angry display. She didn’t say a word about the cup of coffee that the barista had handed to her; in fact she has barely even touched it.

Fitz has an elbow leaning against the counter with his head in his hand, furiously swiping at his face. He always did that when he was stressed. What was going on with him?

Jemma continues to stare at him, until she processes that he is looking right back at her. Their eyes meet. His wide brown eyes bore into her own, like he can see into her soul. Almost as if he knows exactly what she’s thinking. Identical to how the real Fitz would gaze at her. She feels the prickling of tears in her eyes. Oh, she misses him so much. His lips part as if he is going to call out to her, but then his head turns towards the barista. The barista behind the counter had just tapped his forearm with a coffee cup.

“Here, sir,” she says.

He takes a sip, nods and then turns around towards the door to exit, Aida following closely behind.

 

 _Way to be discreet, Jemma!_ This is a disaster. She could’ve just given herself away.

 

//tbc//

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi fitzsimmons people, let me know how it was please! I've only ever written philinda. Thanks for reading...hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!


	6. MAY

**MAY**

  
Her attention snaps from the files on her desk towards the doors to her office. Someone had just knocked.   
  
No one ever knocks. All agents know that she doesn't appreciate surprise visits. If anyone needed to speak to her they were to contact Hunter. And if there was an emergency that needed her attention they shouldn’t be knocking, they should just be walking right in. 

She puts her hand underneath the desktop, feeling around for the protrusion.  Her fingers make contact with the button and she presses it. The black tint that had covered the doors and walls just a second ago disappears as the shades retract into the floor. She can see everything outside of her office. The now see-through glass door reveals a wide-eyed Skye standing on the other side.   
  
Skye had barely spoken a word to anyone on the car ride back to base. She stared out the car window the whole time, nervously fidgeting with her hands.   
  
_Skye had turned to her as they were leaving the crime scene and asked, "You don't know him?"_  
  
_"Mr Coulson?"_  
  
_Skye nodded._  
  
_"No. Should I have?"_  
  
_"N-no," she had replied then turned her head away from everyone else, her hair curtaining her face._  
  
_Immediately after arriving back at base, Skye had retreated into her own office on the floor below._  
  
It was only a matter of time until Skye came to talk. She was never one to keep things to herself, which was a good thing for their relationship.   
  
She motions for Skye to come into her office. 

Skye pushes the door open and hesitantly steps in. "Can we talk?" Skye asks.   
  
"Is this about you and Ward? Are you having problems?" Was _that_ why she has been acting so skittish today? Skye and Ward tried hiding their relationship while at work, but they were so obvious that it was pathetic. In her experience, you couldn’t hide that type of thing. That’s why she didn’t get involved with people that she works with. She never had any first-hand experience with workplace romance, but there was just something deep inside her telling her never to do it. There was no way she would do it even if she wanted to. She is the director and had to set an example.   
  
"So..he’s Ward now?" Skye questions.  
  
"You know I only call him Grant to embarrass him," she says with a smirk. He hates that name. Ever since the day she first met him he had specifically asked her to 'please call me Ward.' That was fine, until he started expressing interest in Skye. Then, she began calling him Grant just to mess with him, almost daring him to object.   
  
He's just not good enough for Skye. She deserves better.   
  
"No. No. I didn't actually." Skye shakes her head and throws her hands up in the air, exasperated. "That's the thing," she pauses, taking a deep breath. "This isn't real. None of this is real."  
  
Skye stares expectantly at her, almost as if she's waiting for her to say something specific.   
  
_What the hell is Skye talking about?_ "What isn't?" _What isn’t real?_  
  
"This!" Skye spreads her arms out. "This world. Any of this," she says, gesturing to everything in the room. "This is a computer simulation. It's all in our heads."  
  
This couldn't even be considered a prank. It isn't funny at all. She is so confused right now. What is Skye trying to do? "Skye.....what?" she asks, completely dumbfounded.  
  
"This world is like a dream world, okay? You, me and the rest of our REAL team are hooked up to this simulation. You are not HYDRA. I'm not HYDRA. This is _all_ fake!"  
  
She doesn't even know how to respond to this. Skye has rendered her speechless. And now Skye is saying that they aren't even HYDRA? Then, how could Skye explain what she's been doing for the last twenty five years of her life?  
  
"My name isn't even Skye!"  
  
She stares blankly at Skye.   
  
"May! Wake up! We are SHIELD agents. I know that this world feels real, but it's not! None of it," she yells, borderline on hysterical.   
  
SHIELD? What the hell is SHIELD? "What is SHIELD?" she asks.   
  
Skye groans. "Oh my god...okay," she presses the heels of her palms to her eyes. "SHIELD is an agency that protects people. It doesn't base its practices on hate like this one. Inhumans. We protect them from places like this...Like HYDRA!" she yells again and slams both palms on the glass surface of the desk.   
  
If anyone else in the base heard her making comments like that, there would be trouble.   
  
Skye walks around the desk that currently separates them. "We have to leave right now. We have to get Coulson and meet up with Simmons."  
  
"Get Coulson? The witness from today? The history teacher is an agent now?” she questions, incredulously. She can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of her throat. The nerdy history teacher who had a ceiling collapse on him was part of this “team” that Skye kept ranting about. “Skye..... really?”  
  
Skye’s face morphs into one of irritation. “This is serious. We have to get out of here.”  
  
“I don't understand what you're doing.” If this was any other agent she would’ve already taken them down and called for an immediate psych eval.  
  
“I'm an inhuman. I'm one of those freaks. Are you going to kill me? Lock me up?”    
  
Why is she acting like she has forgotten what has happened in her life? “Skye, you're not inhuman. We've tested you. Every agent in the building has been tested. Stop playing these games.” She stands up from her seat behind her desk and reaches a hand into her jacket pocket. “I'll call Ward. He can drive you home, so you can sleep whatever this is off.” She unlocks the phone and begins searching for Ward’s contact number.   
  
“No!”

She is blindsided by Skye trying to grab the phone out of her hand. On instinct, she immediately pulls the phone, but Skye isn’t letting up. They continue with the tug-of-war for a couple more seconds until she reaches for and proceeds to squeeze Skye’s wrist painfully. The phone tumbles from Skye’s grasp onto the floor.

“Where is this coming from?” she asks, while bending over to retrieve the phone.

She’s met with silence until she feels the impact of something hard against her head.

 

_Her knees give out._

_She can’t think._

_Everything goes dark._

 

_//tbc//_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now things are progressing a little bit. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!


	7. DAISY

**DAISY**

 

 _Oh man,_ _oh man._ She doesn't know how she even successfully got May out of that building. Now, she has May passed out in the back of the fucking HYDRA van. If she wasn't so nervous right now it would be kind of funny. 

She tosses the file that she grabbed off of May’s desk onto the passenger seat of the van. The file had all of The Framework Philip Coulson’s personal information in it, including his home address. Of course he had to live over two hours away from the HYDRA base. Luckily, she had found some supplies in the back of the van to keep May sedated. It would be a disaster for everyone if May woke up. She was going to be pissed! Agent May of SHIELD was already scary enough, but Director May of HYDRA that was someone she didn’t want to deal with alone.

The phone in her pocket buzzes again. She already knows that it’s Ward. He had started texting her about an hour ago, wondering where she and May had gone. She had texted him back saying that they were following up on a lead, hoping to get him off of her back. No such luck. At this rate, he was going to have half of HYDRA at Coulson’s doorstep within an hour. It was time to turn the phone off.

She takes a deep breath, checking on May in the rearview mirror who was still showing no signs of consciousness. _Good_. Based on the instructions for the drugs they should last for about another 5 hours. That would give her time to get Coulson and figure out where Simmons was. First, she had to actually get out of the van and talk to Coulson.

It was a shock to the system to say the least when they pulled up at the crime scene and she saw that Coulson was hurt. She had to hold herself back from running to him and flinging her arms around him. As she stood at the scene, waiting for May…Director May, Coulson had actually glanced her way, but there was no recognition in his eyes. He barely even made eye-contact with her before skipping right on to something else.

The worst part of all of it was seeing him talking to May. They acted like complete strangers towards one another. How could they not know each other? Thinking back to the desperation that Coulson had for finding May outside of the Framework and then watching them at the crime scene, it broke her heart. That’s why she was here. She had to fix it, for them and for Fitzsimmons.

She jumps out of the van and walks straight up the path in front of her towards the house marked 34. That’s what the file had listed, 34 Haverhill Road. As she studies the house, she can’t believe that it belongs to Coulson. It’s a brick house with: a brown roof, a small porch, a couple of bushes, four windows, and a one car garage. This was unnerving, thinking that Coulson lived in a suburban house all by himself. It sounded so boring.

She lifts a fist and pounds once on the outer glass door. “Coulson!” she calls.  
  
The porch light flickers on. Then, it seems like it takes him forever to come to the door. The dull, faded maroon door swings open and Coulson pushes the outer glass door open just a little bit. “Yes?” he questions.

She realizes that he’s actually hiding behind the door. Is he afraid? Oh, this is so weird. She can’t wait to tell the real Coulson about this once this mess is over.   
  
“It's umm... Agent.....,” she trails off. What was her last name supposed to be again? “My name is Agent….Pierce. I work with Director May. She's my boss.” _She's also unconscious in the back of my van right now._    
  
“It's a little late for you to be coming here,” he comments with a hint of annoyance.   
  
_It’s 8 o'clock p.m._ “Right....I'm sorry. I just...could I ask you a couple more questions?”  
  
After a brief hesitation he says, “Sure. Come in.” 

He had changed since being at the crime scene, thankfully. He’s now wearing a white button up dress shirt, a blue cardigan, black slacks, and black socks. Okay, so he really wasn’t into the whole relaxing and unwinding thing. He was taking this history teacher thing a little too seriously.

Its dead quiet in his house, there isn’t even the sound of a TV on in the background. There’s barely anything on in here, definitely nothing out of the ordinary here. The kitchen is filled with boring white appliances and a couple of dishes sitting in the drying rack. Some dim lights are flicked on in the kitchen and in the living room. The brightest lights are hanging over the wooden table in the dining room. There are papers littering the whole surface of the table, which she assumes are papers from students that he’s busy grading.

She feels a little pinch of sadness. When she thought about Coulson’s life without SHIELD she pictured him married with at least a couple of kids. He would definitely be an embarrassing dad, but a good one. A type of dad that other kids would wish that they had and all of the other parents would envy. Any kids would be lucky to have him as a father. Maybe it didn’t work out because he never met May here, until yesterday that is. Maybe that’s what was wrong. They were meant to be together, but they were once again separated by Aida.

He leads her to the living room, which is….something to say the least. The couch that sits against the back wall just _screams look at me_. It is a hideous shade of olive green. She internally cringes. _Oh, Coulson, who did your interior decorating?_ The light fixtures that hang around the room are a little more modern and there is a wooden coffee table in the middle of the room. There are books hanging on shelves that line the wall. He must’ve built a line of shelves covering the whole wall because there are at least 100 books here.

As they sit down on the ugliest couch she’s ever seen, she spots a framed photo on the coffee table right in front of them. It’s a picture of Coulson with some woman. In the photo, they’re smiling and dressed up, her in a dress and him in a suit. The woman has light brown curly hair, brown eyes, she looks young and innocent. Maybe she was a fellow teacher? They both had arms wrapped around each other; obviously they were a couple. Who is she? Is he married? His file didn’t say anything about a wife. Her eyes immediately dart to his left hand. She breathes a sigh of relief, no ring. That meant no wife. Good. _Good_. That was one less surprise that had to be dealt with.

As she glances at Coulson, he pulls his glasses off and pinches the bridge of his nose. He’s clearly tired and wasn’t going to be getting rest anytime soon. “So,” he sighs. “What do you need to know?”

Despite the lack of style in here, it does feel homey. Better than any place she ever grew up in so, she feels a twinge of guilt for what she’s about to do to him. “I'm going to be honest with you and please don't panic. We think that the inhuman Chan Yin, your student, is going to target you. He's already attacked two students that were in your class today. He…killed one of the students, actually. We would like to bring you in for protection.”

He springs up from his seat on the couch and begins walking into the kitchen. “Oh my gosh. Okay. I need to call my-”  
  
She interrupts him, hoping to halt his movements. “You can't contact anyone. He could be watching us right now. That may put anyone you contact into danger.”  But, what was he going to say, she wonders. That he needed to call his girlfriend? Fiancé? Kids? Maybe he actually did have kids, but they were older?  
  
“Right,” he responds, clearly exasperated.    
  
“Okay, so please come with me....quickly.” She motions for him to leave the house.

He jogs to the front door in a panic, periodically turning his head to make sure she was following him. Then, slips his feet into some shoes and opens the door. Once they both get through the set of doors, she passes him on the sidewalk, feigning protection for his safety.   
  
She wraps one hand around her handgun, knowing exactly how he is going to react once she opens the back door to the van.

She pulls one of the back doors open, quickly spots May’s still unconscious form, and motions for him to climb up.

He’s halfway between hoisting himself up and still having a foot on the ground when he lets out a surprised, “what…”

His body freezes in place as his head turns towards her, eyes wide with confusion and fear after sparing a look inside.

She grips the gun even tighter in her hand and hits him in the temple with it. His body automatically slumps forward, but she catches him before he can crumble onto the gravel below. “Sorry, Coulson. You can forgive me later,” she apologizes and pushes him into the back of the van.

Now, she had to find a place to stash the van, out of HYDRA’s sight while she went searching for Simmons.

//tbc//

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading.


	8. JEMMA

**JEMMA**

 

Fitz and Aida walk hand-in-hand down the street, back in the direction of LifeTech, each with their cups of coffee in hand. Although, the coffee is seemingly already forgotten; Jemma hasn’t seen them take a sip in over five minutes. She can’t help but stare at them in disbelief. They resemble a couple that has been cut out of an ad in a magazine. They never smile and radiate an inflated sense of importance. Strangers on the street spot them and quickly swerve out of their pathway. This ability to strike fear into passersby on the street only seems to work for Fitz and Aida because a handful of people have already bumped into Jemma’s shoulders without even a mutter of an apology. It’s like she’s invisible to everyone.

Today has been nothing but a series of setbacks and rude awakenings. The best thing that’s happened so far was when she smelled the coffee beans in Starbucks and the depressing part is that she doesn’t even enjoy coffee all that much.

She watches intently as Aida leans over and makes a comment to Fitz as the two continue to walk, but Jemma can’t hear anything over the blaring car horns and rush of chitter-chatter all around her. Whatever Aida said hadn’t given Fitz a reason to smile because his lips fall back into a stern line after he responds tersely.

They make it back to the two-steps in front of the building and Fitz takes Aida’s coffee as she barely clears the steps in her massive stiletto heels.

Fitz and Aida had walked into the building five minutes ago, but Jemma couldn’t make herself follow them for fear of being spotted. Now is the time. It’s been long enough. She has no idea what kind of security is in this building, what kind of manpower, nor what she’s walking into. She could really use the team’s skills right now. But they aren’t here; it’s her responsibility along with Daisy to get them back. This was all so much harder to do alone. Hopefully, Daisy is having better luck than she is right now.

_Alright, here goes nothing._

She enters the building through a section of revolving doors and pushes forward. The first thing she notices is that there is no security station like she was expecting, but there are armed security guards standing around the perimeter of the room. She quickly counts about five of them, which isn’t that bad. She could most likely escape from five guards if need be, as compared to fifteen or twenty.

The lobby is massive. There’s a long front desk in the middle of the room, something on the lines of a welcome station. There are sets of elevators along the left side of the room that groups of men in suits seem to be waiting for. The one thing she does notice is that everyone walking around the building seems to have a lanyard around their neck with some kind of badge connected to it. So they have IDs. _Great._

The right side of the lobby is a whole different story. The entire wall is covered in flat-screen TVs, top to bottom. There is some type of ad about the company playing on the screens along with cheesy action music in the background. Video images of Fitz giving presentations, shaking hands with people, and working in some type of lab all flash during the ad. She notices that Fitz is the only person whose face is featured in the whole video. That confirms her suspicions. Based on what she’s seen so far, especially taking into consideration Fitz’s outburst in the coffee shop, he’s a conceited, entitled jerk in this world. All of the money from this business and the relationship that he now has with his father must’ve corrupted him.

She feels eyes on her in that moment. Maybe she’s been paying too much attention to the screens. She could not afford to raise anyone’s suspicions here. She has to find a way to get to Fitz. She’s come too far to fail now. She spins around slowly, feigning a nonchalant glance around the room. All five of the security guards have eyes on her. _Oh no._ Her heart pounds in her chest in response. What do they want? She hasn’t made a move that’s even remotely suspicious yet. She lifts a hand to the top of her head and runs her fingers through her hair. She hopes that they are staring at her due to a disheveled appearance and nothing else.

_Do something, Jemma!_

She decides to walk up to the welcome center desk. Maybe she could get a visitors badge or claim that she was lost. Before she can even think of anything to say, her eyes focus on a pile of pamphlets that are set out at the corner of the desk. She picks the top pamphlet up and in that moment all of the blood in her veins feels like it has rushed to her face. The heat inside of her warms her neck and cheeks immediately. Anger. Disbelief. Betrayal. Those are the only emotions she can feel. She squeezes the paper in a closed fist, needing some type of outlet or she would surely scream or cry. Most likely both.

She breathes deeply, even though it’s difficult to suck anything in with the spasms that her muscles are going through at the moment. All of this in response to that utterly repulsive image on the page.

Fitz is on the front of the pamphlet with….his father, as it says in bold font “Leopold and Dad at it again. LifeTech on top again!” But it’s not truly his father. She’s never seen a picture of his father. Yet, she wouldn’t have to in order to know that the man flashing Fitz a smile in the photo is not his father.

The man on the pamphlet with Fitz is Radcliffe.

It is absolutely sickening. How could he trick Fitz into something like this? She is thoroughly angry now, almost shaking with rage. This was purposeful deceit. Radcliffe had control over the framework, he and Aida. That meant that he had purposefully planned all of this out, this fake life where he could pretend to be Fitz’s father. So that he could live out his sick fantasy.

Radcliffe is a true villain. There is no coming back from this. Jemma will never forgive him for this. She will never let him near Fitz again, no matter what.

“Are you lost?” Jemma hears the receptionist ask.

She pulls her gaze away from the pamphlet, thinking of a suitable reply for the receptionist.

When she finally glances at the woman sitting behind the desk in front of her, the sight almost makes her jump out of her own skin. The receptionist is Bobbi… _Bobbi Morse._

She swallows the shout threatening to fly out of her mouth. However, she can do nothing to stop her bulging eyes. It is too much of a shock seeing Bobbi here, especially as a receptionist. How could this be? Had Aida taken people from the team’s memories and created avatars of them in this world? If so, that meant…anyone could be walking around in the framework. Maybe Hunter was around here too.

“Sorry, you startled me,” Jemma stutters.

“That’s alright,” Bobbi replies with a smile that seems quite uncomfortable. Her lips are spread as wide as they can go, her cheeks are raised near her eye-line, and all of her teeth are showing.

Jemma is so unsettled by the smile that she can’t look away. Not to mention how Bobbi’s bright green eyes seem to have laser focus on her.

After staring at Bobbi for a couple more seconds she finally knows why the smile is so disturbing. It’s because it is unnatural. It’s not an avatar of Bobbi that’s sitting in front of her; it’s an LMD version of Bobbi. She’s exhibiting the same type of smile and mannerisms that Aida had back at Radcliffe’s lab when Jemma saw her for the first time. There’s just something in an LMD’s eyes and facial expressions that gave them away. Obviously, the LMD May model had been more advanced, but this model of Bobbi must be a prototype or older version.

“I was….trying to get to…Leopold’s office for-,” Jemma says, trying to come up with an excuse on the fly that would allow her access to Fitz’s office.

“You are lost. That’s okay. We all make mistakes,” Bobbi says. Once again, she begins smiling in the extremely creepy way. It’s almost as if her face is frozen like that. She waves over one of the armed security guards.

Jemma tenses. What was Bobbi going to say to him?

“What?” the guy grumbles.

“She’s lost. She says she’s supposed to be in the boss’ office. Help her,” Bobbi tells him.

The armed guard sneers at Jemma almost like he can’t even stand the sight of her and walks off with a muttered, “come on.”

She quickly follows him towards the elevators while mulling over how strange that whole conversation just was.

The guard pulls a badge from his hip and swipes it at the small square scanner attached to the wall, which causes the elevator doors to ding open. He motions for her to step in, so she shuffles in. He darts his head in quickly and presses the number 17 on the wall panel and then moves back out of the elevator. The doors slide closed and she’s left alone.

 _Odd._ They didn’t make her get a badge or ask her any questions almost like….they knew her? But how? She had assumed that her avatar was buried six feet under, since she woke up on top of her own grave.

She closes her eyes for just a moment trying to bring a sense of calm to her body. Deep breath in….hold….deep breath out. If anything, the deep breathing does more harm than good. Now, she feels even more on edge. Why wasn’t it working? She’s seen May do this a million times.

She stares with nervous anticipation at the screen indicating that the elevator has passed by floor number 15.

_You can do this._

The elevator dings and the doors slide open, revealing a large office, very large. It’s almost half as big as the size of the lobby. There are fish tanks all over the place. Not normal fish tanks, though, gigantic ones along the walls. There are some with…sharks in them, stingrays, and jellyfish.  Of course, he’s a billionaire with deep sea creatures in his office. How cliché.

She hesitantly takes a step into his office. He’s here, right at the desk that’s a mere 50 feet away. He’s studying something on a laptop screen, whispering to himself. Her Fitz always does that when he’s focused on something. Seeing him now, like this, creates such a deep ache in her chest. She wants nothing more than to run to him and collapse in his arms, but it would be disappointing. He’s nothing like her Fitz. He’s not warm, kind, nor personable. This Fitz is detached, just like the rest of this company.

“Did you think I didn’t see you?” he asks without looking up from the laptop.

Yes. But she wasn’t going to tell him that.

“I’m……Sorry?”

“Outside….I saw you following Aida and I. I’ve never had a model do that before.” He finally glances at her and then stands up from his chair. “Who sent you?” he asks with a chuckle.

All she can do is stare at him blankly. _What? What was he even talking about? Who sent her?_ “No one, the secretary told me-“

He begins laughing hysterically now, actually bending over at the waist from laughing so hard. “Who did this? Was it Stevens in designs? Garber in modeling?” He pauses, catching his breath.

“What’s your configuration number?” he questions.

“I-I..I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she confesses, still at a loss. Configuration number? Was that a number that she was supposed to get from Bobbi?

He stares at her more critically now, beginning to squint, yet he somehow still has a smirk on his face. “Who dressed you?”

Now he’s going to insult her clothing choices? “Excuse me?” she asks, mildly offended.

He takes a couple of steps closer now, appraising her. “Who chose your wardrobe this morning?” His eyes run up and down her body, clearly not in approval of her clothing.

She's speechless. Why is he so fixated on her clothes? She doesn't even know how to respond anymore. 

“What model are you?” he asks suspiciously. He’s only a couple feet from her now.

Suddenly, a new voice originating from over her shoulder interrupts them. “Oh , I’m sorry. I wasn’t informed of-,” the female voice trails off.

Jemma turns around only to be met by……herself. The… _it_ was an exact copy of her. Oh, no no no no no _no no_. Now it all made sense. The odd questions didn’t seem so odd anymore. Configuration number. Model type. Wardrobe. He had made an LMD….of her.

How is this even possible? 

Tears prickle in her eyes. What is going on? This is an absolute nightmare.

That’s when she hears him say, “We’re fine here, thank you Jemma.”

The words threaten her gag reflex. He even named it Jemma. How did he know? What happened to the avatar Jemma from this world?

All of the sudden the floor begins vibrating. At first she thinks it’s her body breaking down, but then she sees Fitz just barely regain his balance, preventing a face plant on the hardwood floor. This isn’t just a little vibration. It is an earthquake grade shock. It is a quake. And that meant, Daisy.

Not a second later, Daisy busts through the elevator doors. Jemma is taken aback not only by her sudden presence, but also by the reappearance of her long hair.

“Hey,” Daisy says, breathlessly.

Before she can respond, Fitz yells out. “Who the hell are you?” He turns on his heel, making a beeline for his desk. Jemma knows exactly what he’s going to go for….the phone.

Jemma quickly darts after him, but before she can do anything Daisy uses her powers to push him into the desk, head first. His forehead makes contact with the hard surface, which causes his body to crumple to the floor.

“Sorry, Fitz,” Daisy apologizes.

Jemma continues moving forward until she reaches the computer that Fitz had just been using. She minimizes the excel sheet that Fitz had up on screen and begins trying to find any files on the LMD of herself. She quickly realizes that there are too many files to choose from. All of them are coded with different numbers and letters, none of the names make any sense. J3E7V1, N6B0M8, P7D11B….no! _Damn it!_ She slams her hands against the keyboard.

She feels a warm palm covering her shoulder. “Hey, we’ve gotta go…..Simmons, come on.” Daisy begins pulling at her shoulder.

“I’m the LMD! She made me the LMD in this world. Oh god!” Jemma closes her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her hands won’t stop shaking. Aida is behind this. Aida and Radcliffe. Bastards!

“Hey. It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this. We’ll help Fitz remember. I’ve got May and Coulson already waiting and trust me they are not going to be happy either. May is the director of freaking HYDRA and Coulson is a high school history teacher!” Daisy says comically waving her hands around her body and smiling.

May…the director of HYDRA? Coulson….a high school history teacher? The thought causes Jemma to laugh at the absurdity. “Okay, that is funny,” she admits. “Thank god you’re here,” she sighs and wraps her arms tightly around Daisy.

Daisy squeezes her back, comfortingly.

As they embrace, alarms begin blaring obnoxiously.

“Okay, time to go,” Daisy comments as she pulls away.

“How are we supposed to get out of here?” She hadn’t really thought that part of the plan through.

“I’ll quake us out the window. No big deal,” Daisy says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What if people see you?”  

“It’s not like it matters. Come on. We just need to find Mac and Mace and we’ll be good. This is a fake world, remember?”

“Right. Right. Let's go.” Of course, how could she forget? This world was starting to get to her. 

 

//tbc//

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so if you enjoyed this chapter please comment. I have no idea if people are still liking this story or not. Except for my two consistent reviewers (@the_eh_team & @QiaolianMM) thank you guys….seriously it means so much :)


	9. MAY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blah....okay finally updating this!! I've had this written but haven't had a chance to upload it.

**MAY**

There is an incessant yelling coming from somewhere and she just wants it to stop. Some guy keeps yelling for her, but she’s too busy right now. The pain coming from her skull is excruciating right now. She needs to continue resting. But he won’t stop screaming her name and now he’s banging on some metal. Why can’t she just get some peace and quiet around here? Wait, where the hell is she?

“Hey. Hey! Agent May!” There it is again.

Her eyes snap open as she jumps awake. _Ugh, that was not a good idea_. Her brain felt rattled. “mmmuuughhh,” she groans.

“Oh finally,” he sighs.

She focuses on the man. Glasses and dress up clothes are the first items that pop out at her. She knows who it is immediately.  It’s Mr. Coulson, the history teacher.

That means that Skye did something to him too. _Oh, damn it!_

“Skye! Skye!” she yells. 

“She's not here. No one is here. I've been screaming for 20 minutes with no luck,” Mr. Coulson responds.

That’s when she fully processes the situation. He’s here clearly against his will. They are in a HYDRA van and Mr. Coulson is seated across from her with both arms completely shackled by thick metal cuffs. The cuffs aren’t ordinary either. They were built for powered people, inhumans. Two sheets of steel have been retracted from the wall behind him. The metal is where his arms rest while the shackles completely incase his wrist and half of his forearm on both arms. His ankles and feet are also shackled to the floor of the van.   
  
“So….why are we in here?” he asks, clearly confused.

Skye had left her more restrained than he was. She glances down only to see that she has restraints on both thighs as well. The pressure from the cuffs around her thigh muscles is uncomfortable, but not painful.

She tries lifting her legs, wiggling her arms, kicking her feet, sliding her hands around, anything to find a way out but it is all of no use. She could barely move at all. Skye had completely immobilized her.

“Did you hear me?” Mr. Coulson interrupts her thoughts… _again!_

She stares at him. The glasses on his face are clearly a different pair from earlier. These new ones are a dark shade of green and have no cracks on either lens. She notices that he also changed clothes. He now wears a white button up shirt, blue cardigan, and black slacks. His forehead is glistening with sweat and his hair is once again disheveled. He has obviously been conscious and trying to escape for a while.

 “Agent May?”

The only response she gives him is a pissed off growl. She can’t think with his constant questioning. She needs a minute of quiet in order to gather her thoughts. She rests her head against the van wall and closes her eyes, beginning to inhale a deep breath. Just _stay calm._ Coulson never could stay quiet for long, always talking about something. He had interrupted her meditation sessions many times before. Wait…. _what?_ No _. Mr_. Coulson has never interrupted her before. She only just met him today. _Where did that thought come from?_ No matter, she doesn’t have time to dwell on it. She has to clear her mind and think all of this through.

_Inhale. Hold for ten seconds. Exhale._

Skye had to be out of her mind to kidnap not only the director of HYDRA but an innocent witness from a crime scene? What the hell was wrong with her? Was she drugged? That’s the only excuse that comes to mind. Drugs would also conform to Skye’s insistence that they are all living in a simulation. That was not a normal thought to have. Everything seemed to be going fine with her until this morning. This morning, she came in completely flustered, definitely distracted, and emotional. It had to be drugs. That’s the only logical explanation. 

Opening her eyes again, she’s met with Mr. Coulson’s own eyes, staring right at her with laser focus.

“My agent…Skye…..she told me that we're all in some kind of dream world. That you, her, and I are actually agents of ....something called SHIELD,” she confesses, wincing at the ridiculousness of the statement.   
  
“What? You're joking right?” he asks incredulously, eyebrows raising high on his forehead.   
  
She nods. “I know. You.....as an agent,” she mumbles.   
  
He smiles, and then opens his mouth, mocking offense. “What's that supposed to mean?”   
  
“I'm sorry. It's just….you don't....,” she trails off.  
  
He laughs which causes a big grin to spread over his face. “Look like a secret super spy ninja? Like you do?”

A small smile creeps out despite her efforts. “No, you don't.”  
  
“I'm a history teacher. Not....what did she call it?” he questions, brow furrowed in seriousness.  
  
This part is embarrassing to say out loud, given his previous statements on inhumans. “SHIELD. She said that we protect inhumans,” she tells him.   
  
He shakes his head firmly in denial. “Okay, now I know that she's definitely lying.”   
  
_You didn’t know that she was lying before?_ She catches herself before responding with that snarky remark. “I know,” she simply says.  
  
“So...where do you think she went?”    
  
“I have no idea.” Wherever she is right now, she’s going to have hell to pay when she comes back. Is Ward in on this with her? He probably is. He’s probably the one that gave her the drugs.  
  
“She's going to come back for us right? I mean, what if I have to pee?”  
  
She rolls her eyes at that question. Really, that’s what he is going to focus on right now? Not reasons why they are here, but when he could get a bathroom break.

“She'll be back. She wouldn't bring us here for nothing,” May tells him. Besides, it should only be a matter of time until HYDRA tracks down this van. Unless Skye hid it well, but she seemed to be in a hurry earlier so it is doubtful.  
  
His eyes grow wide with fear in response to her statement. “Is she going to kill us?”  
  
“No,” she says immediately. Skye would never hurt anyone on purpose. Not after everything that has happened to her. She’s had enough suffering. Whatever is going on with her is something serious and May just wants to help Skye get better.   
  
They sit in silence for a little while, until she notices that Mr. Coulson’s eyes keep darting everywhere. She forgot that he’s not used to this type of thing. This is probably the most excitement that he’s seen in years, besides the fire ball incident of course.

“I'm sorry about this Mr. Coulson,” she softly tells him, trying to reassure him.   
  
“Phil,” he simply says, reminding her to call him that. He had requested the same thing at the crime scene. It was unprofessional, but seeing as how they are both chained up in the back of a van, she could make an exception.

He’s staring at her again. No, not staring more like ogling. She was used to men admiring her figure, but it somehow felt different when he did it. She felt exposed and a little turned on by the glint in his eyes. Her face feels hotter than it was a second ago and she catches his eyes as they run from her calves to her chest and then stop at her face. He’s not even being subtle about it. Is he trying to flirt with her?

Suddenly, his face becomes more serious, his gaze penetrating. “Melinda,” he murmurs. “Melinda…..Melinda May. You…..never told me your first name.”

The way he says her name so deeply, it’s like she’s heard him say that before. She knew it was impossible, yet it felt so familiar. Maybe they _had_ met before. “Well…you did say that you thought we knew each other,” she reminds him.  
  
“Yea. I can't figure out from where. I just feel like I know you.”  His eyes go back to darting around the van, nervously.  
  
“Has your life ever felt off? Like something was missing?” she blurts out. _Where did that even come from?_  
  
His eyes snap to hers once again. “All of the time,” he confesses.  
  
“Mine too,” she admits, eyes dropping to his chest, afraid to keep staring into his eyes. She may say something else that she doesn’t plan on admitting.

His shirt must’ve spread apart from his struggle against the steel bonds. She can see a fraction of his chest peeking out. He has an odd patch of skin near the spot where his heart should be. It appears to be scar tissue. “What happened….there?” She normally wouldn’t be so intrusive, but she can’t stand the way he is staring at her anymore. They had to change the subject. Maybe he would start babbling about some heart surgery that he had to get two years ago or how a cat scratched his chest. She’d listen to him drone on and on about anything as long as it got him to stop looking at her like _that._   
  
His head drops to his chest, searching for what she is referring to. It takes him over a minute to respond. “I....I don't....know,” he whispers.  
  
“You don't know?” she asks, thoroughly confused. _How could he not know?_ It is his own chest. There was scar tissue from some type of trauma. How could he genuinely not know what happened to his own body?  
  
“I.....I've never thought about it. It's always been there but I've never...,” he stammers, clearly equally as confused. “Tahiti,” he announces.  
  
“What?”  Tahiti is a vacation destination. Why is he bringing that up now?  
  
“Tahiti...,” he repeats with more confidence this time.  
  
“What about it?”

“I don't know. When you asked about the scar....the first thing I think of is Tahiti.”   


_// An image of a woman with dark hair thrown into a ponytail, dark circles under her eyes, and a deep frown on her face pops into May’s head._

_“Melinda, he thinks that he's been in Tahiti,” the woman says, almost hesitantly while touching her arm in a gesture of comfort._

_“What?” May asks. To hear that Fury messed with Phil’s brain broke her heart._

_“When they fixed him, they implanted memories of being on vacation in Tahiti....instead of......,” the woman trails off._

_“Being dead,” May says simply. Phil was dead for almost a week and they brought him back. Now, she had to pretend that her best friend hadn’t been lying in a morgue for days, that she hadn’t attended his funeral, and that she hadn’t made herself sick with regret every night._

_She had to pretend that she didn’t lose the man that she loves. //_

  
  
_What the hell was that?_  

She opens her mouth to tell him what she just saw, but is interrupted by the van doors being swung open.

_The images leave her mind immediately. Her only thought now is of rescue._

//tbc//

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm annoyed that May isn't the director of HYDRA in the show. She's always sad. She better get some happiness once they get out of the framework....
> 
> Anyways:  
> As you can see, Aida has really messed with May’s mind and guarded against reality. But, there’s hope for her and his name is Phil Coulson. When I first planned this fic this chapter was actually going to be Coulson and May both remembering everything. Haha, no. We have a ways to go. But it’s going to be fun! What do you think? Thanks for reading everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Comment with what you would like to see or if there are any characters you would like to see.


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